Today I have an interview with Tonya Fitzharris, author of the recently released 6 Seconds of Life.

Do you read reviews about your book?
No, I haven’t yet. I worry that I will let them dwell on me way too much, so I’ve been holding off. Hopefully I can gather the nerves in the next few weeks to just do it. I feel like I will probably not be the best writer I can be if I don’t know what other people truly think.

What kind of research did you do to write this book?
I read several books about depression amongst teens and early twenties to try and get a full scope of the disease and what it entails. Before I ventured into writing a story about a depressed main character, I wanted to make sure I got it right.

Do you write your book from page one, or do you jump around?
I usually always start with the first chapter, but then I jump around quite a bit. I always have a few scenes in my head, so I always get those down first before going in and filling in the gaps as they come to me.

What is the least favorite part of promoting your book?
I’m very introverted, so forcing myself to get out there and talk about myself and my book is tough for me. It feels unnatural and almost intrusive when I try to find ways to bring it up. Hopefully I can find more organic ways to promote myself without having it make me uncomfortable.

How long did it take you to write your book?
The entire first draft took around a month and a half. I set it aside for a few months before I started to edit it again. And again. All in all, I spent about eight months getting it to the point in which I was completely happy with the story.

Tonya Fitzharris is a writer, reader, blogger, mediocre cook, photographer, runner, Florida native, and cat lover. She used to be a Middle School English Teacher, but now she’s trying out the whole novel writing thing. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and her Belgian cat named Waffles.

Now she has precisely six seconds until she hits the water below her–just six more seconds until she is finally freed from her mundane and aimless existence. Freed of all of the regrets and disappointments that have haunted her throughout her nineteen years.

She just needs to be free.

But as she falls, the most pivotal points of her life start to replay like a movie in her head: her family falling apart, her first love, her first heartbreak, and her first betrayal. As she remembers these moments that brought her to this point, will she feel a sense of peace? Or will her death be her greatest regret?

“6 Seconds of Life” is a new adult novel that not only explores the ups and downs of college life, but the ups and downs of life as we know it.